5 Law & Order: SVU Most Heartbreaking Departures, Ranked By Reddit

If you were to name one most devastating departure that took place in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, you're more than likely to get lots of thoughts. Although there are some very obvious choices like Elliot Stabler or Mike Dodds, others weren't all that happy as well.

Here are the Top 5 most devastating character departures throughout the whole Law & Order: SVU history, ranked from slightly sad to truly heartbreaking by r/SVU members.

5. Nick Amaro

It's no secret people are much more prone to burnout in an environment like detectives on SVU have to work in. Unfortunately, feeling like your work is not as appreciated as you would expect it to be is one of the major reasons. Perhaps Nick Amaro was right to search for other career opportunities, but it didn't make his loss any less sad.

4. Alexandra Cabot

Although the law is what generally helps to capture bad guys and turn them into good ones, it is not always enough to bring justice to the victims. That's when work can get in the way of moral duties, and that is exactly the conflict that Alexandra Cabot had to face.

Unfortunately, her decisions led her to leave the position.

3. Chester Lake

Chester Lake was another detective who took an unfortunate radical turn in helping the victims by becoming a vigilante. The character was beloved by many, and viewers were hopeful for his return due to the ambiguous final scene of Lake getting into a car, but the writers never explored this idea further.

2. Casey Novak

While her departure was never explained or confirmed, it is likely that Casey Novak retired from her job after losing the trust of her colleagues. Despite always doing the right thing, one unfortunate event that caused her a suspension and made others question her ability to work effectively ended Novak's career.

1. Rafael Barba

This particular departure hurts a lot more just because of how much personal drama between Barba and Benson was connected to it. This man has grown on the audience just as he helped to grow Olivia Benson herself, so him representing Wheatley felt like a betrayal to many people.